Page 27 of September Lessons
“Dunno. Last I heard she was divorcing the slob and moving to Montgomery.” Carrie shoved her empty chip bag into the bigger bag. “None of my business, really. It wasn’t a real relationship going anywhere. We were fooling around. Except I fooled around with the wrong girl, I guess.”
“They really expelled you for that, huh?”
“Principal’s daughter. Principal’smarrieddaughter. It would’ve been one thing if I was a guy, I guess, but I dunno, he might’ve gotten booted too.” She sniffed. “But I had to go and put a gay scandal on top of everything else. I wasn’t in the closet, really, but I wasn’t super out, either. It’s not like here. I’m still getting used to telling everyone I’m a lesbian without worrying about them picking a fight when I least expect it.”
Leigh-Ann nodded, not that she understand that.I understand being embarrassed about attention… but I’ve never feared someone thinking I’m… like that.She knew her hometown was an exception, though. The town with the Wal-Mart wasn’t as progressive or populated with the type of citizens Paradise Valley boasted. They often looked down at the weekly shoppers with short haircuts and rainbow-themed clothing. Did anybody say anything? Not outside of the occasional protestor standing outside the store, but if there was one thing Leigh-Ann learned about her hometown, it was that Oregonians preferred to not “start a scene,” even if they disagreed with everyone in the room.
“You’re really lucky, you know,” Carrie said. “I wish I didn’t have to move here to finish school, but I lucked out having an aunt and uncle who lived in a place like this. Luckier they agreed to take me in.”
“So that’s how it happened?”
“Yeah. My aunt is my mom’s sister. Everyone’s from Alabama, but after they got married, my uncle took a job in Portland and they later ended up here.” Carrie shrugged. “They ain’t bad. My cousin, though… I hadn’t missed him.”
“Dillon Musgrave, right?”
“Ooh, yeah. Dillon Freakin’ Musgrave.” Carrie gnashed that name between her teeth. “Real winner of a young man. Let me tell you.”
Leigh-Ann waited for her to “tell her.” When the words didn’t come, Leigh-Ann said, “You don’t get along with him, huh?”
“What can I say? He’s basically a kid compared to me. And a boy. They don’t grow up much in high school. Not even the nineteen-year-olds who get held back.” She scoffed. “Especially those! I’m an anomaly, I swear.”
There was something else she wasn’t mentioning. Leigh-Ann wrapped her arms around her legs and waited, knowing that Carrie wouldn’t say anything.
Then, “I think he might be the one setting the fires.”
Gasping, Leigh-Ann knocked over her drink and spilled some soda on the straw beneath her. She hurried to clean it up, but was so focused on Carrie that she only made a bigger mess. Carrie didn’t move to help her.
“What are you talking about? You’re joking, right?” That’s what Leigh-Ann said when she finally had her bearings back. “I mean, what makes you think that?”
Carrie nonchalantly held up her fingers, counting off the reasons. “He’s a fire bug, for one thing. My aunt and uncle know he’s out in the backyard setting controlled fires. You should see them! There’s this huge patch of burnt grass in the backyard. His uncle makes him put wet stones around the edge so he won’t accidentally catch anything else on fire, and for another thing… I’ve overheard him on the phone when he thought I wasn’t listening. He was talking about the barn fires, sounding mighty proud, if you ask me.” Carrie lowered her hand. “You have, by the way. That boy is trouble.” She gritted her teeth. “He’s also making out with Christina, not that it’s here or there!”
There was a ton of information for Leigh-Ann to latch onto, but that last bit? That’s what she focused on when Carrie stopped talking. “What? Dillon Musgrave andChristina?”That didn’t compute. Dillon was far from cute – honestly, he and Carrie looked nothing alike – and Christina preferred her boyfriends to at least be on the “somewhat cute” side.I get it… there isn’t a lot of choice, and when you only date guys for a few months, you run out of options… but… still… Dillon? Musgrave? She’s gotta be nuts!“How do you know that?”
“I caught them making out behind the auto parts place last night. In his car. It was definitely her.”
“Damn. The world is a messed up place.” Leigh-Ann scoffed. “If what you said about him being the arsonist is true, it might make sense. Christina likes ‘bad boys.’ You can hit every ugly branch on your way out of the family tree – no offense, just saying – but if you’ve got a glint of a bad boy persona in you, she’ll be into it. For a while, anyway.”
“You would know, huh?”
“We used to be friends, okay?”
“So I’ve heard.” Carrie folded her hands on her stomach. “You know what? I told you about why I got kicked out of my old school. You’ve never told me about what happened between you and Christina, your supposed best friend.”
Leigh-Ann swallowed a lump that no amount of soda could lubricate. “I think I told you we had a falling out over something stupid. Nothing important. Nothing… impressive.”
“Uh huh. So why are you blushing?”
“I’m not blushing.” Leigh-Ann totally was. She could hardly stop blushing once she realized Carrie might unlock the biggest secret to hide within her friend’s heart.It’s not like we’ve been friends for that long… we might be hanging out where we shouldn’t, and she’s telling me stuff about herself, but we’re not… super best friends who tell each other everything…Could they be, though? “Christina and I grew apart. That’s all.”
“Grew apart. For reasons that nobody will tell me about? You guys practically avoid each other at school.”
“We do not!”
“Do too.” Carrie grinned. “You guys had a thing, didn’t you?”
Leigh-Ann couldn’t speak. “A… a…” A what? An affair? Was that what Carrie wanted her to say? She was the worldly one who knew all about getting into trouble with the principal’s married daughter! “A thing? No way.”
“Come on. You two totally scream that you’re awkward because you knew each other too intimately. In a town like this? I could totally see it.” Carrie leaned in closer, her nose only a few inches away from Leigh-Ann’s arm. “So, what was it? You guys have a fling and she got cold feet? You guys have a lover’s quarrel she didn’t want people knowing about? Come on. You can tell me. If I can tell you all about getting kicked out of my corner of Alabama because of what I did with my body, you can tell me your sad story.”
